The present invention relates to a motor driven device for handling or transferring workpieces between two stations, and more especially for inserting and/or removing workpieces in and from a processing machine, as for example a press, comprising a holding device for the workpiece, which performs a vertical motion adjacent to the repective stations and a longitudinal movement therebetween.
During the production of workpieces they have to be sequentially placed in the respective processing machine and then removed from it again after they have been treated in some way. For this purpose and for the linking together of adjacent machines, in which the workpieces are sequentially machined so that they have to be transferred from one machine to the next, it is necessary to provide loading and unloading devices as well of the above-mentioned type, whose holding means, which may for instance be of the type using a gripping or suction unit, hold the workpieces at least during the transfer motion and, dependent on the particular application, for example in connection with a press, during processing in the machine as well.
In order to provide for the vertical motion of the workpieces desired for transfer at the ends of the stroke and for the longitudinal motion between such vertical strokes, it is possible to equip the devices with a number of drive means each responsible for motion along one coordinate. Such devices or systems, as for example those employing cams has follower rollers and/or slide operating means are however complex and involve the use of guide members subject to wear.